Thursday, March 12, 2009

Garfield Minus Garfield: Stripping a strip shows sorrow and silliness

Jim Davis' widely distributed Garfield comic strip has been around since 1978 and has maintained its popularity throughout the years, so it's difficult to find somebody who isn't familiar with fat cat Garfield and his owner, Jon Arbuckle.

Most everybody knows that Jon is awkward, odd, and luckless, but we learn just how depressed and eccentric Jon can truly become when Garfield, Odie, and the entire rest of the cast are removed from the strip entirely.

Garfield Minus Garfield does just that, leaving strangely empty panels and a strange, empty man in its wake. Isolating Jon Arbuckle and taking him out of context is downright hilarious at times, and at other times it helps the depressed and lonely among us to realize that there's somebody else who's right there with us, and possibly worse off than we are.

That being said, Garfield Minus Garfield is the perfect remedy for those can't-find-a-job/can't-get-a-date/don't-have-any-friends/what's-the-meaning-of-life blues. And you don't even have to get a prescription. Whether you need someone to relate to or just need a laugh, Garfield Minus Garfield might just be for you.